A garden fire pit might sound like a great option for outdoor entertaining in the cold months, but as with all traditional fireplaces, they produce allergy-inducing smoke, ashes, and soot. They require buying or chopping wood, and dealing with the debris and dust that comes with it. These fuels also contain their own mixes of organic and non-organic compounds, which can cause respiratory tract irritation.

Because bioethanol fires burn denatured ethanol—which is derived from renewable materials—there aren’t any chemicals to breathe in.You and your guests won’t be going home with coughs, or the black residue in their noses that can sometimes happen with a traditional fire pit, because their emissions are clean. They’re odourless when they burn, which also means you won’t end the night with your party clothes drenched in the smell of smoke.

Perhaps the greatest advantage of eco smart outdoor fireplaces is their safety. Besides the obvious health benefits of eliminating the need to endure breathing in the toxic compounds released by traditional fires, there’s also no risk of embers being caught in the breeze and alighting on you and your guests.

Don’t be discouraged by the artificial flames of the alternative options to traditional wood-burning fire pits you might have seen: outdoor eco smart fires deliver powerful, real flames, and a good amount of warmth.

Bioethanol fires are a great heating option, even for an outdoor entertaining area. Depending on the size and capacity of the model, you can achieve acomfortable warmth even in larger areas, and make use of your outdoor spaces during in the cold months.They’re also ideal if you’re looking to heat a smaller area, like a partially enclosed terraces in apartment buildings: they don’t need a flue, so all the heat they radiate is distributed throughout the space, and there’s also no emissions to contend with.

Part of their power in warming outdoor spaces is in controlling the heat loss characteristic of traditional outdoor fire pits. Eco smart outdoor designer fireplaces are engineered smarter than traditional fires, and depending on the design and additional screening and cover options, the heat they radiate is better controlled and more efficiently distributed than open fireplaces. This also reduces the amount of fuel they need to consume, so it won’t cost you an arm and a leg to enjoy the ambient warmth of a designer alfresco entertaining area.

And because you only need to fill the burner with fuel and light it, they generate warmth instantly. There’s no struggling with lighting them or waiting for them to grow enough to warm the space. You can also turn them off whenever you’re ready, and the fuel you don’t use can be saved for later.

Because there’s little or no installation cost involved with outdoor eco smart fires, they’re a great option for renovations. Even with a larger model as a permanent fixture, there aren’t any flues or chimneys to get council permissions for, and it’s unlikely that installing the unit would add any significant labour expenses to your renovation budget.

There’s virtually no maintenance involved with bioethanol outdoor fireplaces, so you won’t be slugged with ongoing costs to enjoy them, like you might with a traditional fireplace or fire pit that needs regular professional cleaning. The running costs are also reasonable, but depending on the size of the space they’re heating, and the size of the unit, you shouldn’t be paying any more than you would with electrical heating. And paying for a renewable resource for fuel instead of electricity—that’s a whole other investment you can’t put a price on.

Because outdoor eco fires are designed and engineered to be durable, and they’re constructed from high-quality weatherproof materials (like tempered glass and steel), they’ll withstand a reasonable amount of exposure to the elements—ensuring a long lifespan for your unit. You’ll definitely pay more for a top of the range model or a larger burner capacity, but it’s likely to be a wise long-term investment for the comfort and designer style you’ll get in your outdoor entertaining areas.